


Detours and Discoveries [REVISED]

by Bumpkin



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Het, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-29
Updated: 2008-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-13 03:13:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bumpkin/pseuds/Bumpkin
Summary: Description: A plot bunny that jumped up and bit me when listening to a certain ‘Heart' song - not really a song-fic, more of a song-premise-fic. Can't tell you which song or it will give it away, but anyone familiar with the group will know fairly quick anyway.





	Detours and Discoveries [REVISED]

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Elaine, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Artifact Storage Room 3](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Artifact_Storage_Room_3) and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Artifact Storage Room 3’s collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/artifactstorageroom3/profile).
> 
> **Author's notes:**
> 
> Another version of this story was posted to my lj a while back, but reader reaction at the time had me taking a hard second look at what I had and ultimately rewriting it to what it is now. But I am still very open to all comments and concrit that anyone might want to throw my way - so please, feel free to do so. :) 

  
Author's notes: AN: TSbyBS never happened in this ‘verse - Blair got his doctorate on his thesis based on Closed Societies when it would have.  


* * *

Disclaimer: Not mine...

 

Detours and Discoveries (Revised)  
By Marns AKA Bumpkin  
Rated R - or M  
(Wordcount: 7, 635)

 

x-X-x 

 

_-mid august of 1985-_

 

It *had* been a beautiful night... warm and clear. The stars had been shining brightly against the velvety darkness of the sky. But then, a streak of lightning had ripped across it, dimming the stars and washing out the lush richness of the night sky. The crackle and rumble of thunder accompanying the lightning had been deafening and the sky had opened, drenching everything in seconds.

 

The young man trudging alongside the rural highway caught in it hadn't stopped cursing for a solid hour since. 

 

It was actually rather impressive, the non-stop cursing the young man was indulging in. Especially since he hadn't repeated himself once yet. He just kept ranging through various dialects, idioms, and the languages they came from to get his feelings known. 

 

He, on the other hand, wasn't feeling very impressive. 

 

After being unremittingly rained on for an hour and slogging through the steadily growing mire on the shoulder of the road, he was sure he looked like some kind of bedraggled waif - an urchin straight out of Dickens. 

 

Then, just to cap off an already bad night, something unseen in the darkness tripped him. Lurching forward, he just barely managed to catch himself at the last minute from doing a full frontal faceplant in the mud. His waist length braid of hair swung wildly from the sudden motion and stop, coming to rest by thwacking him in the chest.

 

Groaning, he managed to push up from where he'd landed and sit back into what was an uncomfortable kneeling position with the way his wet jeans were plastered to him. Sitting back onto his heels, he squelched deeper into the mud he was already covered in. He grabbed hold of the bedraggled length of hair that when wet could double for a whip at the moment and laughed, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation finally getting to him. 

 

He ruefully thought to himself, ‘Forget urchin, I guess I could also qualify as your average drowned rat, complete with my own rat-tail!'

 

Resolutely he pushed himself back to his feet and wondered where the days and nights like this one had been in his mother's tales. He certainly didn't remember any times they had gotten caught like this while they traveled together. It wasn't something he would have forgotten even from a very young age after all. 

 

Dropping his bag to the ground (it wasn't like it could get any wetter than it already was) Blair stripped off his top three layers and then just stood under the heavy rainfall, head tilted back and arms held out slightly from his sides, as he let it sluice the worst of the mud from his spare frame.

 

It felt wonderful. 

 

For all that it had been making his life hell as he tried to walk through the mess it had created as it fell, the fat drops falling so heavily on such a warm summer night charged with electricity from the storm was an almost transcendent experience.

 

Laughing with something that felt a lot like pure joy even with the crummy circumstances, he threw his hands up into the air with his arms spread wide. Arching his back and planting his feet firmly, he took in a deep breath and let all his frustration loose with a strident yell into the howling winds. Which is of course the moment the sky lit up with a spectacular show of lightning and he was pinpointed in the glaring headlights of an approaching car.

 

Blair dropped his hands back to his sides and let his head droop a bit. Ruefully he shook his head, and muttered to himself. "Damn, figures. This just isn't my night."

 

-x-

 

A funky combination of her headlights as she rounded the curve in the highway and a large flash of lightning drew her attention to him where he stood at the side of the road. Her attention was caught by the sight and it held there. She didn't have the willpower to look away.

 

He was stunning. Absolutely gorgeous even. 

 

Especially when she hadn't been expecting to see *anyone* out on a night like this. Certainly not along this stretch of road in particular, and not tonight. So seeing a beautiful young man outlined starkly by both her headlights and the storm's flashing fury alone and in such an enticing pose, well her brain had short circuited. Seeing the wanton enjoyment he had been taking in the summer storm - his head thrown back, arms raised to the sky as if in worship - made her decide to do the unthinkable. She slowed down and then rolled to a stop beside him to offer him a ride.

 

He accepted. 

 

Smiling his thanks, he climbed into the car and they began to drive. She wasn't headed anywhere specific and it didn't seem he was either. They didn't talk, just companionably sat side by side as they drove aimlessly for a while. It was getting late though, and she had been up early that morning. She didn't know about him, but she was tired, although she thought that getting drenched and covered in mud like he had, might be more than a bit wearing. He would probably relish the chance to get cleaned up and rest for a while. Seeing the local hotel up ahead, she pulled into it almost on autopilot. Her passenger stirred. 

 

"What are we doing here? Why did you stop?" he asked. 

 

She smiled wryly and answered, "Well, I was thinking you wouldn't mind getting a real shower after the dousing you got earlier and frankly, I'm beat. I need to get out from behind this wheel and get flat for a few hours at least. As I have already offered you the use of my temporary shower facilities, would you care to join me in sharing my repose as well?"

 

An even brighter smile crossed his face than when he had accepted the ride from her made her want to shade her eyes as he replied simply, "Yeah, I think I'd like that, thank you."

 

x-X-x

 

_-inside the hotel room an hour or so later-_

 

The young man she had picked up on the side of the highway walked out of the bathroom with a billow of steam chasing him. He had a towel wrapped around his narrow hips and his skin was a rosy tint from the heat of the shower he had taken. His long hair had been unbound, washed, and now hung loose over his broad shoulders like a living cloak made up of curls to his waist.

 

Her mouth dried at his beauty. There was something almost ethereal about it, or pagan. Much as her first sight of him had been. Standing there in the rain and looking so joyous as he held his arms open and face up to the downpour like he had been paying some kind of homage to the old gods. Worshipping nature like she wanted him to worship her.

 

He wasn't paying attention to her at the moment however, since both his arms were occupied with the glorious fall of hair he laid claim to, trying to tame the mass. Between the pick and towel he was trying to use at the same time he was making a bit of a mess of things though, and getting frustrated with it. She laughed throatily from where she had arranged herself sexily on the bed and asked, 

 

"Need some help with that Sugar?"

 

"Nah, I just ran out of conditioner and that always makes things a bit more diffi..." 

 

His eyes went wide as his easy refusal to her offer of help trailed off into nothing when he got a good look at her and what she was wearing. Or more like what she *wasn't* wearing. 

 

"I think I insist."

 

She purred as she slid off the bed and seductively swayed over to where he had frozen in his tracks. Stopping in front of him she leaned forward and kissed him. Lightly at first, just a teasing brush of her lips against his. Then again, harder this time and pushing with her tongue to trace the sinfully full lower lip that had been hanging a bit lax due to shock. 

 

That woke him up. 

 

He began to kiss her back, tangling a very agile tongue with her own for a short time before he very thoroughly explored the rest of her mouth with the slick appendage.

 

Without breaking the kiss, she reached out and skimmed her hands down the outside of his arms to his hands. They involuntarily flexed around the towel and pick he still held. She extricated them from his grip and tossed them away. The now empty hands flew forward to powerfully grip her hips, tugging her pelvis towards his own. She mewled at the sensation, his thick length ground even further into her soft belly at the small sound.

 

Finally she had to wrench her mouth from his to breathe. Lightheaded, she began backing towards the bed, pulling him with her. He followed, eyes hot and breathing just as hard as she was. Then just as she started to tug at the towel wrapped around his waist - all that was still protecting the last vestiges of his modesty before they fell onto the bed together - he hesitated. She looked up at him, the question clear in her eyes. Something seemed to clear in his at her look and he asked her softly.

 

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

 

She didn't answer verbally, instead she smile seductively and finished tugging away the towel concealing him from her view. He made no more moves of stopping her and when she looked down her breath caught. 

 

Wow.

 

Looking back up she caught a slightly smug look on his face, but seeing what he had to work with she couldn't blame him. But she bet she could make that look disappear... her hand snaked down between them and made the smug go bu-bye. Yep, she still had it... but what was he doing now? He was doing what with which? Ooooh... okay, maybe they both had it. From that moment on the rest of the night became a blur, pleasure was given and received several times over. They didn't stop until they were both very sticky, slightly sore, and beyond sated.

 

Lying there cradled in his strong arms after they had exhausted themselves, she marveled at his performance. Appearances, apparently, are very deceiving after all she mused. Her bed partner looked so young in so many ways and had acted inexperienced in others but boy, he'd had hidden depths. The cautious exploration of her body that he had done at first - what she had taken for inexperience - had just been his way of learning what really got her going, and boy did he rock her world. She just hoped he hadn't ruined her for anyone else after this... that would be bad.

 

She slipped out of the bed and got dressed as stealthily as she could, not bothering with clean up except for the most cursorily one. Then, she penned him a quick note on a piece of plain white paper and left it in plain view on the little phone table between the beds.. He should find it there easily enough she thought with a nod. 

 

Standing there beside the bed she couldn't help herself, she had to get one last look at the exotic young man who had made her night so memorable. Looking down she saw that he had shifted position in the short time she had been gone. He had grabbed the pillow she abandoned and added it to his own, wrapping his arms around both in a determined cuddle, as well as rolling halfway over onto his tummy. It was cute. She leaned down and brushed back just enough of his wild mane to place a kiss on his forehead in farewell and then made her way to the door. There she paused, looked back one last time and whispered, 

 

"Bye Lover, and thank you."

 

-x-

 

_-the next morning-_

 

Blair slowly, very slowly, swam up through the inertia that seemed to want him to stay asleep for a while longer. The shrill ringing of the phone on the table beside the queen sized bed he was sprawled over had other ideas though. It kept ringing and ringing, and Blair had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't going to stop until he picked it up. Joy. 

 

Wondering why the renter of the room wasn't picking the damned thing up, Blair blearily cracked open an eye and peered around to look for his absent hostess. He couldn't see hide nor hair of her... ah well, he guessed it meant he was up. 

 

‘Damn!' He winced at the bright sunlight flooding the room. He tried to open the other eye, but no go. It was a fight to keep at least the one open with the damn sun shining so bright. At least now he had a pretty good idea why the phone was ringing off the hook. They must want them out of the room; check out time was probably long past. 

 

Reaching for the instrument still shrilly sounding off, Blair became aware of myriad aches, pains, and some lingering muscle soreness that reminded him of why he was having such a hard time waking up this morning. He couldn't help the smile that creased his face as he finally managed to snag the receiver and drag it to his ear.

 

"Hello?" 

 

~"Sir, we understand you had a late night - but we really do need you to vacate the room as soon as possible if you are not going to be booking it for a second night."~ 

 

"Oh, okay... umm the lady that booked the room-"

 

~"Has already paid for everything before she left as she normally does Sir, it's all taken care of."~

 

"Oh... umm, okay. Thanks, I'll be out shortly."

 

~"Thank you Sir, have a good day."~

 

Blair hung the phone up blindly and just laid there for a moment. Well, that answered the question of where his hostess was - not here. She'd apparently bailed on him last night as soon as she could. He wondered why... he didn't think he'd done *that* badly for his first time, had he? She had certainly seemed to enjoy it at the time, at least he thought so... he didn't think you could fake things for that long or that consistently. But that didn't really matter did it? Because he was here, left behind and alone.

 

This sucked.

 

Dragging his tired body out of bed, Blair headed directly for a shower. There was no way he would be able to tame the rat's nest his hair would have tangled into overnight otherwise since it had been left unbound when he fell asleep. Never mind whatever the sexual shenanigans he had gotten up to with his departed benefactress had done to it. All too soon though his shower was done and the rest of his ablutions had been taken care of. It was time to go. He glanced one last time around the room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything and that is when he saw it - the note.

 

It was propped up on the table behind the phone folded into an inverted ‘v'. Inscribed on the front was the single word, ‘Lover'. Blair reached over and plucked it from the table with a slightly shaking hand and turned it over to read what was written inside.

:: _Lover,_

_It was fun when it was happening, but now it's over and I have to bid you farewell. Don't look for me or hate me, please. If you care at all, just let me have this as a sweet memory. Believe me, you'll always be there._

  _Yours, just for one night of pleasure._

  _"I was the earth, you were the seed. Together, we're a garden or a tree."_ ::

  
Blair let the note flutter out of his fingers. He hadn't expected any declarations of undying love or lifelong commitments, but this was... cold. Definitely not the way he had pictured spending the morning after losing his virginity that was for sure. Not sure how he was feeling, he sighed and walked out.

 

Down in the lobby he went to the front desk to make sure there was nothing he needed to take care of for the room. He wasn't in the habit of stiffing anyone for anything and he wasn't about to start now. His enquiry garnered the same reaction at the front desk as it had over the telephone. But this time a little more information was provided that explained much.

 

"Oh no Sir, it's fully paid. The lady and her husband always make sure of that when she has one of her ‘weekends'. You are more than free to go."

 

Blair absently thanked the girl at the front desk and turned to leave, shrugging his pack into a more comfortable position on his back as he did so. So he mused, the mystery wasn't one anymore, he now knew exactly what he had been to the woman he had spent the night with - he'd been a toy, played with and discarded. Disposable. Not the first and probably not the last. 

 

That was rather depressing, he thought and his shoulders slumped. He was forced to hitch his backpack up again as it slid. But he thought cheerfully, at least he had lost his virginity to a hot older woman - it would make for a great story when he got to Rainier University in the fall. His step was much lighter from there on and he was smiling again.

 

x-X-x

 

_\- eleven years later, one year partnered with Jim-_

 

"How about you, Sandburg? You have any wild tales of lo-o-ove you don't mind sharing with us?" 

 

Initially shaking his head ‘no' to the suggestion, Blair was soon persuaded to change his mind as an exuberant chorus of agreement from all others there had him laughing and saying, "Okay, okay... give me a minute all right?"

 

Blair grinned over at a very tipsy and triumphant Henri Brown. He thought perhaps introducing the detectives of Jim's Major Crime Unit to the microbrewery's selection during the department's monthly poker game hadn't been his wisest idea. The beers from the small breweries tended to be much more potent on average than any from any of the larger commercial ones and the detectives were certainly feeling the difference. 

 

Their ability to play the card game long past, they had fallen to telling each other ‘honest to god, poke my eye out if I am lying' true stories, which with any group of drunken men degenerated quickly into being mostly about past sexual escapades. So far, Blair had been able to avoid being pulled in to the story telling, his status as an observer protecting him allowing him to stay unnoticed in the background. But his immunity, it seemed, was up.

 

He puttered around, making sure the inebriated cops weren't going to damage anything or cause a Sentinel-freak out level mess while he was not able to watch over them. Then he laughingly allowed them to pull him to ‘center stage'.

 

"Man, you've been at Rainier for forever - I bet you have some wild stories about sexual shenanigans that go on over there." Rafe, Henri's new partner, said almost wistfully. 

 

Blair's eyebrow rose at the comment, and he had to smother a grin. All he said though was, 

 

"Yeah, things can get pretty wild and woolly on campus but I personally think my absolute wildest sexual experience was before I ever set foot on it."

 

Various versions of "Really?" "Do tell," and "Well, don't hold us in suspense" were heard overlapping each other. Blair grinned and said, 

 

"Yeah really. See, it was the summer of the year I was fifteen. I was hitching and hiking across the States on my way to Rainier (Oh jeez, stop being such cops for a bit guys - I know it was dangerous and there is no way I'd even think about doing it now - give me a little credit please) at any rate, it was my last grand adventure before settling down to study, and things weren't going well. It was the wettest summer we'd had in a long time, and I spent so much of it soaked to the skin that it was a wonder I wasn't mildewing where I stood. Or at the very least, that I hadn't shriveled into a prune-y version of myself. Needless to say, it sucked. I know it was never like that when it was me and my mom traveling together, leastwise I don't remember if it ever was. But that doesn't matter, what matters is one night after the sky opened up yet again, my luck changed because _she_ appeared. This very hot, gorgeous, woman and she had a _car_. A very nice, warm and dry vehicle with functioning heat which she invited me into and offered me a ride to wherever."

 

Hoots sounded loudly, intermixed with catcalls from the raptly listening cops. Blair chuckled shaking his head and continued, speaking over the rowdy bunch.

 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah.. shut up. You wanna hear the rest don't ya? All right then, well, shut up then." Blair waited for them to calm down and then continued. "It wasn't all that interesting at first - we just ended up driving around for a bit. But then she pulled into this hotel parking lot. I was so out of it by then I almost didn't realize that we had stopped let alone where at first." 

 

The ruckus almost started up again but Blair glared around and they quieted down quickly enough. He continued,

 

"Anyway, this time when she offered me something, it was a chance to shower and a bed to sleep in, said _she_ was tired and needed lie down so I wouldn't be imposing. Not being stupid, even back then, I accepted since I was dirty, wet, and just as tired as she looked, if not more so. Now I wasn't naïve, but I honestly didn't think there was anything else behind her offer. Not at that time of night, or more accurately morning, and how exhausted we both seemed to be. Add to that I was a fifteen year old virgin and she was a hot ‘older' woman, and well frankly I was positive any interest she was showing me was merely maternal."

 

Disappointed sounds filled the room and Blair chuckled. Understanding flooded faces as he grinned lasciviously and said, 

 

"Hey, I was a kid, what did I know? She sure threw that theory out of the window when I got out of the shower, much to my surprise and delight. And then even with how tired we both were, we disproved it several times over, late into the night." 

 

"Da-a-amn! Some guys have all the luck." Henri crowed. 

 

Rafe added, "Yeah really." 

 

"What happened in the morning, Blair?" Joel asked thoughtfully. 

 

Blair snorted and replied dryly, "Nothing. She was already gone. Makes for a very easy morning after when all you leave is a note and a paid bill behind."

 

Simon chuckled. Then he rumbled, "Don't kick a gift horse in the mouth kid, she could have easily split and left you with the bill. Shtupped you and stiffed you in the same night so to speak."

 

"Thanks, Simon, you have a real way with words sometimes man."

 

Blair said with more than a little disgust and Jim who had been silent up till now started to laugh. He laughed even harder as Rafe said, 

 

"I don't think the Captain is the only one who can be accused of that, Sandburg. That was one helluva tale you spun for us, but highly improbable. Woulda made an awesome ‘letter to Penthouse' though, or a porn flick."

 

Blair looked very insulted. 

 

"Are you saying I'm lying? Telling tales out of school?"

 

Rafe blinked a bit owlishly and said, "Well, yeah. You said it yourself, it was before you got to Rainier so that would make it out of school, and I don't think it happened so that makes it a tall tale..."

 

Blair huffed and headed to his room, tossing over his shoulder,

 

"Man, see if I ever share with you guys again."

 

That did it for everyone else, they all cracked up. Jim was the first to pull himself together, and he just started calling cabs to pour everyone into - the night, as far as he was concerned, was over.

 

x-X-x

 

_-seventeen years post solitary road-trip, seven years partnered with Jim, two years post doctorate-_

 

"Hey Sandburg, where do you want these notes?"

 

"Hunh, what?" Blair poked his head up from behind the shelving unit where he'd been crouched sorting some boxes, and stared blankly at Jim for a moment. At first it didn't seem like Blair had heard what Jim had asked, but then as Jim watched indulgently, it seemed to click and Blair became animated as he replied,

 

"Oh, those notes! They're the ones for the Intro to Anthropology 101 right? Yeah looks like it... umm, I guess they can go in the first filing cabinet - the black one."

 

Jim moved to file the papers in the proper place with a smile. It felt good to be helping his friend and partner of six years start the semester out in relatively good order. He knew there was no hope in hell that the man would stay organized for the entire semester; that just wasn't the way his roommate operated. But he could at least help him start out that way. 

 

Blair, after answering his friend, hadn't wasted any time and had already turned back to the boxes behind the shelving unit he had been sorting through before Jim had interrupted him. Jim knew he'd lost his partner again to things he couldn't fathom, but that was okay. Now that Jim had a starting point, he was more than capable of sorting things from here and intuitively setting them up as Blair would. Then all he would have to do is let Blair know what he'd done, common sense should take care of things from there.

 

Things went along that way for a while, the two of them working companionably together, each on their own separate tasks, but then suddenly Blair stood up with a muttered curse. Jim looked over and saw the younger man had two books in his hands, two very old and out of place books. Blair paced back and forth a few times on the spot, as if he was trying to physically weigh the pros and cons of what he needed to do. Then, he'd obviously made up his mind and turned to face Jim as he said, 

 

"Listen Jim, I need to take these irreplaceable and antique books back over to the library. I have no idea how they got here, but that's besides the point isn't it - at any rate, I really need to take them back to where they belong and can be properly cared for. You can hold the fort here for a few right?"

 

Jim laughed and said dryly, "Sandburg, after six years of living with and listening to you, I think I am more than able to handle your filing. Especially since I am better at it than you are to begin with."

 

"Well of course you are better at it man, it's so much like housework. Ugh."

 

Blair said as he scrunched up his nose at Jim in a mock scowl of disgust. Jim bunched up a bit of scrap paper into a ball and threw it at his wiseass of a partner. 

 

"Oh get out of here already!"

 

"Getting ... sheesh, no need to get violent man."

 

Blair said with a laugh as he scooted out the doors, precious books in hand. Jim walked over and picked up the balled up bit of paper he'd thrown at Blair to toss it into the trash and then went back to his sorting and filing.

 

A light knock on the office door about fifteen minutes after Blair left got Jim's attention quickly. Well, quicker than it would have gotten his partner's anyway when he was doing the same job, Jim thought with a mental smirk. He looked up to see who was at the door. It was a young lady, one who really didn't look old enough to be in the University. And there was something about her - Jim couldn't quite pin it down but she gave Jim a decidedly odd feeling as well. 

 

It seemed he hadn't been fast enough with an answer either because the young lady had felt the need to tentatively call out in a voice that resonated in an oddly familiar way to Jim. 

 

"Dr. Sandburg?"

 

She stuck her head in the room and Jim had to revise his estimate of her age, she went from young lady to girl. She couldn't have been much older than sixteen. But that wasn't the reason he still hadn't answered her, no the reason he was holding his tongue was because not only had her voice triggered some strange feelings of familiarity in him, but the way she looked did as well.

 

‘Christ, she just has to be related to Sandburg,' he thought stunned. 

 

There was just too much about her that was eerily like his absent partner. From the dark curls tumbling down her back, red black in her case instead of his red brown, to the same button nose and defiant chin. Her face turned his way and he started. 

 

‘Jeezus, that cinches it, she has to be a relation - the eyes are identical!' 

 

It wasn't like she was a dead ringer, younger female clone, or anything freaky like that, but damn - it was enough to make him do a major double take. He couldn't help himself, he had to know. He reached out with his senses and began to catalogue her. 

 

He compared what he sensed about her to what he had stored in his memory for Blair and came to the inescapable conclusion that they were related, and closely too. Half sibling, first cousin, or child level of close relation. But she hadn't shown any recognition at Blair's name, so she obviously didn't know about the possible family tie... what the hell was going on here?

 

All of this of course took no real time at all as it was all in Jim's head, but it was still long enough that the girl edged a bit further into the room as she called again, 

 

"Dr. Sandburg, Professor? Are you here?"

 

She obviously still hadn't caught sight of Jim where he was sitting in the back of the office behind the desk and he still hadn't done anything to draw any attention to himself. Jim was glad about that. It allowed him the luxury of time. Time he needed to use while trying to decide what to do. Of course that is when things changed again, variables shifted, as the girl was pushed further into the room impatiently by an older woman who followed her in. 

 

The woman, who could only her mother, who was saying, "Oh for heavens sake Ruth, just spit out what you need to ask the guy so we can get the rest of the stuff you need for starting up at the end of the month."

 

The girl protested, "But Mom, there doesn't seem to be anyone here."

 

Jim cleared his throat. Mother and daughter looked in his direction. They had to strain to try and see him in the gloom of the room. Finally the girl, Ruth, seemed to see where he had tucked himself between the large wooden desk and filing cabinets to sort through things. 

 

"Oh! I didn't see you there. Are you Professor Sandburg?"

 

"Nope, I'm just a friend of his attempting to help him make something orderly out of this mess he likes to call an office. The Professor had to run out for a minute, but he should be back soon if you wanted to wait."

 

Jim wanted them to wait; he had a feeling if they waited it would all be explained. This was quite the puzzle, one that had some half remembered bit of information niggling at him. Something he knew would come to him fully if he could just get a bit more time to try and remember. This was one mystery he really wanted to solve. But, he figured that would only happen if the two ladies were still here when Blair got back - which shouldn't be too long now, he thought as he cast out his hearing and heard his partner coming down the hall. Now all Jim had to hope was that no-one waylaid the affable professor en-route. Something that happened on a fairly regular basis, no matter where they were. But, thankfully, Jim's hopes bore out and no-one interfered with Blair's return. 

 

Well, not until he got to his own door anyway - then he was forced to pause in the doorway when someone called a question to him from down the hall. Blair hollered an answer back from his own threshold, something about not wanting to get into anything and leave Jim sorting his office out alone. Jim didn't pay any attention to the byplay Blair was engaged in with one of his fellow professors down the hall, he was much more interested in the reaction the mother had when she first caught sight of his partner.

 

She'd started and paled, a light sweat breaking out over her entire body as her heart had sped up. All the classic signs of shock, and fright. And she'd darted a rather telling glance over to her daughter. Well, it was telling to Jim. Her reaction told Jim that she knew exactly why Blair and her daughter Ruth smelled related. She definitely had something to hide, and Jim was sure it had to do with the girl standing beside her. Ruth he was pretty sure, knew nothing. She was just standing there listening to the two Professors holler back and forth and grinning, obviously thinking their antics were a hoot. 

 

She'd managed to get a grip over herself and erase all signs that anything had thrown her by the time Blair managed to wrap up his 'conversation' with the other Professor. So she appeared perfectly calm and in control when Blair swept into the room saying, 

 

"Jeez, Jim, did you - oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was anybody else here or I wouldn't have been yelling from the door like that. You must think I'm so unprofessional, man, this is so embarrassing - even though the Uni isn't really supposed to be open to the public at all at the moment seeing as it's not in session - anyway, what can I do for you ladies?"

 

Blair smoothly switched gears conversationally mid-sentence when he noticed the two extra bodies in the room. He headed for Jim and his desk, where he'd left his glasses. Jim knew that meant he wanted to get a good look at the newcomers, and for that he needed the eyewear to see details in the gloom since the years of grading tests during stakeouts had done more damage to his eyes than he liked to admit. Plus, strange people showing up out of nowhere were always suspect. Women included - Maya, Alex, Laura, and Iris had taught them that early on. 

 

After Blair put his glasses on and whispered a quick sentinel soft warning Jim was thankful for, he turned on the lights as well. Then Blair turned and perched on the edge of his desk facing his visitors, finally getting a chance to really get a good look at them. His eyes met the matching lively blue eyes in Ruth's face as she brightly introduced herself and started to explain why she and her mother were there, and Jim was sure Blair didn't hear a word of it.

 

He'd frozen at seeing his own eyes looking back at him. 

 

But Blair hadn't stayed that way for long; soon his sharply discerning gaze had tracked over to the mother and after a little bit something had clicked. Looking at his face Jim knew than Blair had figured it out. Then it clicked for Jim too, a story told one night when too much beer had been flowing and not enough cards were played. Nobody had believed the story, but if Jim was guessing right - the proof was standing before him in the flesh. Jim stifled the chuckle that rose at his next thought; trust Sandburg to find a way to incontrovertibly prove he was telling the truth - even with that kind of story. Rafe and H were going to be eating some serious crow when they heard.

 

It wasn't something Ruth needed to hear though, not yet - and not in the terms that were probably going to get bandied about in the fresh pain of discovery. He didn't know about the woman who had so callously used Blair, but Blair himself could be downright caustic when he felt it was warranted. Somehow Jim had a feeling this would be one of those times. So he thought it was probably the prudent course to get the girl out of the room, but how? Then he had an idea.

 

But before he could say anything, Blair beat him to it. Jim should have known that his partner and he were on the same wavelength, wryly he thought he also should have known he wasn't leading.

 

"Ruth is it?" Blair addressed the girl questioningly, and she nodded with an uncertain smile. He smiled back blindingly and said, "Great, I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor?"

 

"Sure! I'd love to help."

 

"Wonderful," Blair said as he kept smiling warmly at the teenager. "Do you think you could run over to the main administration building and ask about 'Professor Sandburg's mail' for me?"

 

"No problem, I can do that!"

 

Jim snorted, "Yeah, you can - but he can't, at least not in a timely manner." 

 

He immediately was the center of attention and he protested, defending himself. "What? You saw for yourself how he keeps getting delayed whenever he dares to try and step foot out of this office. He has a lot of work to do yet before the semester starts, work that I am going to get stuck doing if he doesn't get to it."

 

Blair huffed and Ruth giggled. 

 

Then Blair waved a hand and said dryly, "Whatever, ignore Jim - he thinks talking is a waste of time that could be better spent doing something constructive." The clearly affectionate tone to his voice belied the harsh sounding words. He continued, "Anyway, Ruth, you go on and I'll tell your mom what you need for the coming semester while you're gone - that sound okay?"

 

"Yeah, sounds fine - be right back." She turned to leave and then stopped and turned around again. "Umm, do I need a note or something to let them know I am actually there on Professor Sandburg's behalf?"

 

Blair smiled, reached back to grab a bit of paper from his desk and scribbled out something for her exactly to that effect, signing it with a flourish. He walked forward and handed her the paper as he complimented her, "Smart girl - you keep thinking ahead like that and no matter what you do you'll go far."

 

She shyly smiled back, took the paper and took off. Blair waited until he couldn't hear her anymore and then he looked over to Jim. Jim picked up on the cue and listened to determine when she was safely out of earshot. When she was he nodded to Blair. 

 

That's when Blair turned to the mother she'd so blithely left behind and said, "So that's what that night so long ago was about. Why you were trolling along the highway on such a lousy night, why you picked me up, why the hotel knew you so well."

 

Her face reflected her shock as she just realized that he had recognized her even with all the changes the years had wrought.

 

"What?"

 

"Don't even try. I know for a fact you recognized me the minute I walked in that door - I don't look all that different than I did seventeen years ago. Yeah, I'll grant you the hair's a bit shorter and I've filled out some from the fifteen year old that I was back then." Her gasp of shock was audible to even non-sentinel ears, telling Jim that she hadn't known, or even suspected how young Blair had been. Blair didn't seem to care, he just kept talking over her reaction to that revelation, "but then again, you've been looking into eyes that match mine for sixteen years now - so I don't think your claim of not recognizing me will fly, hmm?"

 

"Oh God, you were only fifteen? You were younger than Ruth is now?" She said obviously shaken, and in her next breath whispered, "(I feel sick)" 

 

Blair just watched her dispassionately for a while as she had a bit of a mini-breakdown. But she managed to pull herself back together again, and he asked, "Just for clarification purposes, tell me - she is my daughter isn't she?"

 

He didn't get an answer from her so he turned to Jim and asked him sotto voce, "Well, is she Jim? Can you confirm?" 

 

Blair's voice was unnaturally cold and Jim sighed at hearing it. He just replied, "Yeah Sandburg, scent alone says any DNA test would be positive."

 

Hearing that Blair spun on his heel and began to pace. Back and forth, back and forth. Moving in fast and jerky strides, his natural grace subsumed by his distress. He was muttering too, just loud enough for them both to hear.

 

_"Damn, wanted a baby, didn't want the father. Didn't care that I might have objected. I mean who was I? Just some clueless schmuck picked up off the side of the road, someone to be used and thrown away once my use was accomplished obviously. Consent, what's that? Nothing important, like any feelings I might have on unknowingly becoming a father-"_

 

She interrupted his muttering with a protest, "No - it wasn't like that! You don't know, please can't you try to understand-"

 

Blair cut her off in turn, "Of course I didn't know, you never saw fit to ask me! And understand? Jesus Lady, understanding is the last thing you are going to get from me right now. How could you do that? To me, to her? Hell, how could anyone do that to anybody?"

 

Her shoulders sagged. In a broken voice she said, "I'm sorry; I never meant to hurt you. It was just that I loved my husband so much, and he gave me everything. Then the one thing we wanted so badly and he couldn't give me, a child, you could."

 

"That didn't give you the right to drag me into your little drama! If you and your husband wanted a child badly enough that the biological father didn't matter, there were these things called sperm banks - y'know, places where men donate their sperm for just that purpose - you should have gone to one of them!"

 

Blair's last diatribe had him really close to losing it, so he spun around to face away from them while he tried to regain his equilibrium. Jim could hear him swallowing convulsively though as he struggled. He wisely resisted the urge to go and embrace Blair to comfort him, he had a good idea it wouldn't be very welcome at the moment. Soon enough, Blair was back in control of himself and he'd turned back around to address his long ago paramour. 

 

"So, you and your husband are still together?"

 

"Yes." 

 

Her reply was shaky, like she had no idea why he was asking. Jim thought he knew why and a bittersweet little smile flitted over his lips. He should have known it would go this way in the end. Blair was in his own way very predictable. He always ultimately put the child first.

 

"Does she, Ruth, know your husband isn't her father?"

 

"No, she thinks he is her father in everything and every way. You and my husband actually look a fair amount alike, and you seemed healthy enough so-" she let her voice trail off with an apologetic shrug.

 

Jim and Blair acknowledged her answer with a wince, but Blair bravely soldiered on. 

 

"Then I see no reason to disrupt her life at this stage, a child needs a stable base to build on and so far it seems she has been provided with that."

 

Jim tapped his watch and Blair got the hint, he had to wrap this up fast because Ruth was on her way back.

 

"Look, Ruth should be back soon so I'll make this quick - can I just ask for there to be a coda or something in you and your husband's wills that in case you both die that she be told the truth?"

 

A smile that was both pained and tremulous was his answer, along with a nod. Her relief to the peaceful and non-disruptive resolution was obvious to both men. Jim could see that Blair, on the other hand, was sad. Sad, and maybe still a bit mad - but overall he was satisfied with how things had been worked out. 

 

Jim for his part, was never going to totally doubt one of Blair's stories ever again. Take them with a grain of salt and a good shake of skepticism, sure, but never again full out doubt. 

 

-end-

 

_the song that prompted the premise:_

_It was a rainy night When he came into sight,_  
Standing by the road, No umbrella, no coat.  
So I pulled up alongside And I offered him a ride.  
He accepted with a smile, So we drove for a while.  
I didn't ask him his name, This lonely boy in the rain.  
Fate, tell me its right, Is this love at first sight?  
Please don't make it wrong, Just stay for the night.  
  
All I wanna do is make love to you/ Say you will You want me too  
All I wanna do is make love to you/ I've got lovin arms to hold on to  
  
So we found this hotel, It was a place I knew well  
We made magic that night. Oh, he did everything right  
He brought the woman out of me, So many times, easily  
And in the morning when he woke all I left him was a note  
I told him "I am the flower you are the seed,  
We walked in the garden We planted a tree  
Don't try to find me, Please don't you dare  
Just live in my memory, You'll always be there"  
  
All I wanna do is make love to you/ One night of love was all we knew  
All I wanna do is make love to you/ I've got lovin arms to hold on to  
  
Oh, oooh, we made love, Love like strangers/All night long. We made love  
  
Then it happened one day, we came round the same way  
You can imagine his surprise when he saw his own eyes  
I said please, please understand I'm in love with another man  
And what he couldn't give me was the one little thing that you can  
  
All I wanna do is make love to you/ One night of love was all we knew  
All I wanna do is make love to you/ Say you will, you want me too  
  
All night long (x4)  
  



End file.
